The invention relates to a lower back orthosis including a bandage designed to surround the lower back of a patient.
Orthoses of the type referred to herein are used to encircle a body part of a patient, in particular the lower back of the patient. Such an orthosis may include supporting elements so that it may be used, for example, as a lower back orthosis to support and relieve the lumbar spine. It is known that the orthosis may need to perform different functions depending on the size of the patient and the condition to be treated.
For instance, it may be necessary to relieve the lordosis area of the spine in its entirety by bridging the area with a support device that provides for a substantial immobilization of the spine. It is also known that the lumbar area or lumbosacral area of the spine may be supported during limited mobility. In an advanced rehabilitation phase it may only be necessary to provide a certain degree of support by means of a bandage or a slightly reinforced bandage.
DE 202 04 747 U1 discloses a lower back orthosis, which is designed for use in different applications and for adjustment to different patients. The orthosis includes two overlapping constituent bandages, which allow the bandage height to be adapted to the patient in question, as well as various support devices attachable to the bandage. In addition to support rods that can be inserted into specially provided pockets, various support devices in the form of a back-support frame to bridge the lordosis area (lordosis correction) or a vertebral link pad to stabilize the movable lordosis area can also be secured to the bandage arrangement. If necessary, this spinal column orthosis can be supplemented with a dish-shaped abdominal pad. The various support devices can be attached to the bandage by means of a fastening connection, such as for example, Velcro® fasteners, and can thus be easily changed.
Known orthoses are made having different lengths in order to accommodate differences in the girth of the body part around which the bandage is wrapped. A finely differentiated range of lengths is not provided because the ends of the orthosis can overlap to a greater or lesser extent. However, a substantial overlap may occur in cases where the girth of the body part in question is small, adversely affecting the fit of the orthosis. Similarly, certain types of orthoses may not fit arounds patients with significant girths.